I got out for my annual paddle along the tidal Patapsco this morning, putting in at Southwest Area Park at around 7:45am, just before the 8:00am predicted high tide at Fort McHenry. I paddled about 3.5 miles upstream and back, for a total of 7 miles, which I believe is a new distance record for me on this particular stretch of river. Usually, shallow water prevents me from getting too far upstream of the B/W Parkway overpass, but today, the water was navigable all the way past the Baltimore Beltway overpass. I could have gone farther, but ended up turning around because I wanted to be home by 11.

Southwest Area Park was quite busy this morning with people launching, fishing, etc. It was the first time I had been there on a weekend in several years. To be honest, I had been kind of avoiding it on weekdays recently, because there always seemed to be sketchy people hanging around using various substances, etc. I may stick to weekends going forward, as I did not get that vibe this morning.

This part of the river has not changed much in the year since I last paddled here. On the upstream leg, the stretch between the launch and the MD 648 overpass was stagnant and murky, with no current at all, and a dismaying amount of trash floating around. It really made me wish I had brought some trash bags, and I’m going to try to remember to do that going forward. On the return leg, the breeze had picked up and the water had a few more ripples (as well as a couple of wakes from small boats). I also noticed a lot less trash — way too much to have blown anywhere in that short amount of time — so I am thinking someone must have picked a bunch of it up, which makes me feel a little bit better about the state of humanity.

The best part of the paddle was the stretch upstream of 648, out towards 295 and 695. This part of the river has a little bit of a current, and the water is much clearer as well. It can be a challenge to navigate the shallow sections, but it was much easier today at high tide. I turned around just shy of the Halethorpe Ponds area, which is somewhere I have been wanting to check out as both a paddling area and a potential put-in. I am curious if it would be possible to get as far upstream as US 1 and the Thomas Viaduct. I suspect I won’t find out until next year at the earliest, but you never know.

We finally got out paddling again this morning, for the first time since mid July. While I’m normally not a huge fan of paddling during the dog days of summer, most years I do get out at least once or twice through late July and August, so this year was a bit of an anomaly. In my opinion, September and October are the best months of the year for paddling in this area, but this September kicked off with a massive heat wave that was great for swimming in the pool, but not so great for paddling. Looks like the sweltering weather is behind us for now, so going forward, I’m hoping to get out about once a week, until it gets too cold.

Today brought us to Solley’s Cove Park in Anne Arundel County, where I have launched numerous times. It’s one of my “go to” places when I’m looking for something 20 minutes or less from home (if I recall, I took my last paddle of 2022 here). This used to be an unofficial “locals only” launch area that was accessible by parking at the nearby American Legion, and carrying the boats down a 100′-or-so path to a small sandy beach. That access point is still there, but a couple of years ago, the county built a public boat ramp, soft kayak launch, and parking area, which is a much nicer and more convenient place to launch. I suspect it’s more popular on weekends now, but it was very quiet on this pleasant, breezy Thursday morning. There are lots of places to paddle here, but today, we headed upstream to Furnace Creek, paddling all the way out past Rt 10, and continuing until it got too shallow. Our total distance was about 4.2 miles — not the longest paddle in the world, but enough to scratch the itch. I won’t be able to paddle next week, but hope to get out one morning the week of the 25th to paddle a little bit on the Patapsco River.

We paddled at Rocky Gorge Reservoir this morning, for the first time since 2020. We used the launch at Scott’s Cove Recreation Area, which is within the magical 20-minute drive radius of home, and paddled about 5.5 miles, looping out to the US 29 overpass and back. With the oppressively humid air and the predicted high of 90°F later today (not to mention the daily thunderstorms), we got out early, putting in at 8:30 and taking out almost exactly 2 hours later. In addition to the humidity, there was very little wind, but fortunately, the sun mostly stayed behind clouds while we were out. On the return leg, we even had some light showers, which felt very refreshing. It was not a bad paddle, and there were several other people out on the water on this quasi-holiday Monday morning. The only thing keeping me from coming here more often is the $5/person fee that WSSC charges for a daily watershed usage permit. It’s not that I mind paying the fee, it’s just that there are other nearby places that are just as convenient and free. With all of that said, it’s a nice place to paddle, and I think I’ll try to get out here once or twice a year going forward.

Cathy and I headed to Middle River, MD today and checked out Dundee Creek, where we had not previously paddled before. The put-in is at Marshy Point Nature Center, just to the south of the nature center building, from a floating dock at the end of a several-hundred-foot-long pier. Definitely bring a set of wheels, or a partner to help carry. It’s an easy put-in once you get there, though.

Dundee Creek runs on the north side of Marshy Point, and Saltpeter Creek is on the south side. The two converge and feed into the Gunpowder River, which in turn feeds into (of course) the Chesapeake Bay. All of these are tidal estuaries. We were there near low tide, but we mostly avoided the shallow side channels. Marshy Point has set up a nice paddle trail, which we followed using the provided GPS coordinates. The paddle trail would probably be about 2 miles if we had gone directly point-to-point, but we meandered around and stretched it out to 3 miles. Almost all of the shoreline here is lined with reeds, which we learned are invasive Phragmites australis. It is kind of scary how it has taken over almost every inch of real estate along the shore.

For a Tuesday morning, there were a lot of people out on the water — a bunch of people kayak fishing, a ranger-led canoe tour, and several folks out in identical sit-on-top kayaks, who I figured must have been together, although I’m not sure where they launched (possibly from the nearby Dundee Creek Marina). Definitely plenty of room for everyone, as the creek is essentially a very large expanse of open water.

This was a nice place to paddle, but given that it’s 35 to 40 minutes’ drive from home, I probably won’t be coming here all that often (although I do enjoy the hiking trails here). Nice to have checked it out, though, and I’m sure I’ll return one of these days.

In 2014, I bought my first kayak: a used Wilderness Systems Tsunami 125. Based on my research, I believe it is a 2006 model. It had some wear and tear when I got it, and it’s gotten even more wear and tear in the 7-or-so years that I’ve owned it. Last summer, when the keel sprung a leak, I decided that it was finally time for some long-overdue repairs. I don’t (yet) possess any winter kayaking gear, so winter is my off-season, making it a great time for this. One of my winter goals is to get the old Tsunami seaworthy again in time for spring. Here’s what’s on the plate.

Keel repair: The keel leak has broken me of my bad habit of “scraping” myself into the water on concrete launch ramps. Little did I know, but plastic hulls aren’t indestructible. After some research, I learned that it’s possible to “weld” new plastic onto the hull. The important thing is to get the same kind of plastic used for the hull, so I went online and ordered some Wilderness Systems brand weld rod stock. I used my old Radio Shack soldering gun as a heat source, and a putty knife to smooth the molten plastic. It wasn’t all that hard, and everything was going really well, until the soldering gun died. I heard a “pop”, it went dead, and that was all she wrote. I’m pretty sure the leak is patched, but it still needs a little bit more plastic, and some shaping up. I may try using my heat gun, or my 25-watt soldering iron, to finish the job. Then I’ll do a leak test, and sand the finished product a little bit to smooth it out. We’ll see how that goes.

New bungee rigging: My old deck bungees were losing their elasticity, and getting threadbare in spots, so I ordered some bulk bungee cord and replaced them. That’s a rather easy repair, but it can be tricky to cleanly cut bungee cord without it fraying. Similar to synthetic rope and accessory cord, you need to use heat to seal the ends. My favorite trick is to take an old table knife or saw blade, heat it with a propane torch until it is red hot, and then use it to slice through the cord (don’t forget to wear oven mitts 😀). It’s quick, easy, and leaves a nice, clean end.

The bungee cord on the carry handles, as well as the paddle holder, has also seen better days, but appears to be a smaller diameter than the deck rigging. I’m going to need to order some of the smaller diameter cord to replace those.

Bulkhead resealing: This one is TBD. My foam bulkheads have leaked for a few seasons. A couple of winters ago, I tried to fix them with silicone sealant, but the repair didn’t last. This year, I broke down and bought a kayak-specific bulkhead seal kit, and am going to see if that does the trick.

This kayak has taken me on some great adventures over the years, and I’m hoping that these repairs will give it a new lease on life.